The Ohio Department of Development has announced winners of Local Government Innovation Fund (LGIF) awards. The LGIF program is designed to encourage collaboration and shared services between governments. In northwest Ohio:

The City of Toledo was awarded $100,000 to study the feasibility of a facility that would provide leaf composting and stone crushing. Troy Dowling, Administrator of Public Service, City of Toledo, explained that the city has an excess of brick and concrete from demolition, and annually collects 300,000 cubic yards of leaves. Currently, the city pays about $250,000 per year to have the leaves hauled away. A composter with a leaf turner could spare that cost and also create topsoil that different city divisions need and currently pay for. A stone crusher could render old concrete into a material that could be used to build gravel-like roads at athletic facilities and at dump sites.

Wood County Port Authority was awarded $81,300 for a feasibility study for Southwood Emergency Medical Service.

An application submitted by TMACOG for a grant to research a regional water authority was funded for $100,000. The City of Toledo and Lucas County provided the required matching funds for the project. The region is currently served by a regional water system owned and operated by various jurisdictions. This funding will enable the stakeholders to build on prior work toward forming a water authority rather than just completing another study.